See what students say:

Academics

At this tiny Bar Harbor school, students "don't just take classes": they immerse themselves in experiences and in "an intimate, friendly community" of do-ers and critical thinkers. The college offers one self-designed major, human ecology, which takes an interdisciplinary approach to learning; this means "your undergraduate experience really is what you make of it." As a result, students are involved in outside projects in many areas that COA might not have many classes in. You also see "an interesting blend of subjects—physics, life drawing, environmental policy might all be found in one senior thesis." This unique educational model helps students "merge [their] talents/interests in a meaningful and applicable way," and allows for graduate-level research and realworld work experience at the undergraduate level. Students can't say enough about their professors, who "foster an environment open to discussion." If they do not know the answer to a question, "they are likely to admit it and research" the answer for you. "It's hard for me to talk to friends at other schools because it's not popular to love your college and academics as much as I do," says a student. Conversations extend outside classrooms all of the time; COA "is a college and a community that demands cognizance, compassion, and trust." There is a tremendous amount of academic freedom here, as well as "the ability to self-govern as a community"; COAers all recognize "the trust and responsibility the institution places in all students to create their own academic path between and among traditional majors." Self-motivated learning is everything here, and College of the Atlantic is for "idealists with elbow grease." Students can try their hand at numerous internship, residency, and study abroad opportunities, as the school "endeavors to make education a verb, and apply it to positively impact the world." Professors are deeply invested in their roles as educators, and "pour their hearts into this." "They expect our best and help us achieve it," says a student. "I am challenged and encouraged in equal parts."

Student Body

Students at COA are typically "down to earth, progressive, and passionate about improving the world around them." Or, to put it another way: "Brilliant and a little weird." While the student body may be small (with a pretty skewed gender ratio at about 70 percent female), there's a great deal of diversity within the student body, both culturally (there is a huge international student population) and socioeconomically. "Nobody has the opportunity to hang out with people just like them"; instead students say, "We learn to be with each other, to share space." The four-year, straight through plan is not always typical here, and students "often leave for months or years and come back with experiences that enhance their and everyone else's education."

Campus Life

The housing and food here get rave reviews, and "many great conversations about the state of the world take place in houses, at meals, and just about anywhere else." The "active Outing Club" offers plenty of opportunities for students to kayak in Frenchman Bay and explore their "backyard" (Acadia National Park) or "other incredible natural areas of Maine." "It's hard to get bored when you live in such a beautiful landscape," says a student. COA students strive to be conscious of how their actions affect their social, political, and natural environments, and "there's definitely a hippie aesthetic." "We are constantly thinking about the latest environmental/social justice issue and thoughtful debates about these subjects happen at every meal." For fun, most students will "host potlucks with friends, spend time outdoors, and dance (with exceptional skill) together." Contra dancing ("one of the best things ever") is "alive and well in Maine and at COA!" "Reading parties, movie screenings, philosophical debates, and playback theatre companies" are also common, and "evenings often finish with singing, fiddles and guitars."

Special Need Services Offered

Student Activities

Sports

Student Services

LGBT Support Groups: COA students offer a student-run support group. Our health services clinic also provides counseling on issues related to gender.

Minority Support Groups: COA students have an international students group.

Sustainability

In the spring of 2013, the college adopted an Energy Framework which lays out steps to meet its energy needs by using local and renewable energy sources and to eventually become a fossil fuel-free campus. Implementation will involve students through hands-on, interdisciplinary classes and student-led projects to inspire and educate students to conceive of and implement similar work at larger scales in the world. Already, COA classes have researched, sited, and installed solar panels and a wind turbine on campus. These add to the college’s baseline renewables and environmentally sound building practices. COA routinely conducts energy audits of the campus with the goal of making existing buildings more energy-efficient. The college also focuses on providing local and organic food to its students, faculty and staff; COA has its own organic farm twelve miles from campus, which supplies the cafeteria with produce as the seasons permit. A new livestock farms produces broiler chickens for campus. An electric van charged by solar panels provides transportation between the farms and campus; the campus solar charger is open to the public for free. That said, the school is keen to note that “all food waste is composted.” In fact, with designated composting bins in the cafeteria as well as every dorm (not to mention recycling bins for plastic, glass, and paper in every building and on almost every floor), there’s no excuse at COA not to compost and recycle. The college also takes a proactive approach to teaching sustainability in the classroom through its Sustainable Foods Systems Program, which explores how COA’s work in organic agriculture can be applied to larger food system issues, as well as its Sustainable Business Program, which focuses on environmentally and socially focused strategies to encourage positive change, while another program focuses on environmental diplomacy empowering students to become youth leaders in international negotiations.

Data provided by Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), STARS®, as of March, 2017.

Campus Security Report

The Jeanne Clery Act requires colleges and universities to disclose their security policies, keep a public crime log, publish an annual crime report and provide timely warnings to students and campus employees about a crime posing an immediate or ongoing threat to students and campus employees.

The Princeton Review publishes links directly to each school's Campus Security Reports where available. Applicants can also access all school-specific campus safety information using the Campus Safety and Security Data Analysis Cutting Tool provided by the Office of Postsecondary Education of the U.S. Department of Education: http://ope.ed.gov/security

Other Information

Campus-wide Internet Network

Yes

% of Classrooms with Wireless Internet

100

Fee for Network Use

No

Partnerships with Technology Companies

No

Personal computer included in tuition for each student

No

Discounts Available with Hardware Vendors

Yes

Description

University of Maine Computer Connection

Campus Visits Contact

Contact

Donna McFarland
Associate Director of Admission

Address

Office of Admission105 Eden StreetBar Harbor, ME 04609

Phone

800-528-0025

Email

inquiry@coa.edu or dlm@coa.edu

Experience College Life

Most Popular Places On Campus

George B. Dorr Museum of Natural HistoryDeering Common Community CenterThe pierTurrets Blair Dining Hall (aka Take-A-Break)College of the Atlantic is located between the ocean and the hills of Acadia National Park. It's a beautiful spot to visit during any season. The campus has recently completed state-of-the-art sustainable housing and a creative restoration of an historic building into a similarly sustainable campus center. These are also very popular spots for visitors. But our library is a welcome environment overlooking the ocean, our Blair Dining Hall (aka Take-A-Break) is our meeting spot, our food is delicious, and there's now a little cafe, Sea Urchins Cafe, in the lovely Deering Common Community Center

Most Popular Places Off Campus

Acadia National ParkCadillac MountainKayaking Frenchman BayShopping in Bar HarborPopovers at Jordan Pond HouseCollege of the Atlantic is an oceanside campus located between the Atlantic Ocean and Acadia National Park. A visit to the college can be combined with a visit to Acadia National Park, and (depending on the season) hikes, kayaking trips, x-country skiing, and an enjoyment of the island atmosphere.

Faculty and Coach Visits

Class Visits

Overnight Dorm Stays

Overnight Dorm Stays

Available

Arrangements

Contact Admissions Office

Limitations

High school seniors and transfer students

Transportation

Types of Transportation Available to Campus

Regularly scheduled flights are available to Bar Harbor Airport and to Bangor International Airport. Bus service is available to Bar Harbor, Bangor, and Ellsworth, though service to Bar Harbor is limited in winter. Taxis are available year-round.

Driving Instructions to Campus

Driving from the south, take Interstate 95 north to Interstate 395 in Bangor (exit 182A). Follow Interstate 395 to Re 1A Ellsworth (Exit 6). From Ellsworth, follow Rte 3 east to Bar Harbor. Keep left after crossing the bridge onto Mount Desert Island. College of the Atlantic is on the ocean side of Rte. 3, about 19 miles from the Ellsworth shopping district, eight miles from the head of Mount Desert Island and one-quarter mile beyond the Nova Scotia Ferry Terminal. Turn left at the COA entrance and park in the provided areas. The admission office is located on the first floor of Kaelber Hall, under the arch to the right.